Ciliated cyst of the liver: A case report

Ciliated cyst of the liver is rarely seen in the pediatric population and considered as a benign tumor often discovered incidentally. We report the case of a 12-year-old child with a history of contact with dogs, admitted to our department of pediatric surgery because of an abdominal trauma. He had no significant medical history. All blood tests were within normal limits. A computed tomography scan was performed and revealed a 60-mm cystic lesion with dense contents in segment IV of the liver, suspicious for a biliary cyst or a hydatid cyst. Magnetic resonance imaging was in line with the diagnosis of a type I hydatid cyst of the liver according to the Gharbi classification. The patient underwent a laparoscopic resection of the cyst without spilling any content in the peritoneal cavity. The pathological examination of the specimen confirmed the presence of a cystic formation lined by ciliated pseudostratified epithelium without signs of infection or malignancy, confirming the diagnosis of a ciliated cyst of the liver. The postoperative course was uneventful. At 6 months of follow up he remains asymptomatic and has a normal abdominal ultrasound. Ciliated cysts should be included in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions of the liver. The therapeutic management is a subject of debate.